Celebrity chef Derry Clarke has revealed he’s been unable to sleep since his son Andrew’s suicide days after Christmas.

The TV favourite admitted it’s become even tougher for him and wife Sallyanne to deal with the heartbreak of the 16-year-old’s death eight months on than at the time.

And speaking for the first time about Andrew’s death, the L’Ecrivain owner admitted they’ve been too devastated to touch his room since the tragedy – as they try to stay strong for daughter Sarah May, 22.

He said: “There is a pain in your head and your stomach all of the time.

“The joy is gone out of everything and you don’t look forward to anything.

“The last month or two has been the hardest for me, and it’s about 10 times worse than right after it happened.

“Every single thing is a memory — photographs, smells, tastes, places — and it hurts.

“We haven’t touched his bedroom. I get a bit envious when I see families with their kids, and I tell my friends with younger children to take more time off work. It’s a difficult time, actually it’s a s**t time, really. I’m all over the shop, and so is Sallyanne.

“Couples grieve differently and at different times, and it’s hard sometimes to be strong for one another because we’re both suffering so badly.

“The main thing is that we can’t give all our energy to grief because Sarah May is only young, and we want her to have a happy life and a good future. She’s precious to us.”

Andrew Clarke

The Michelin-starred chef revealed his son Andrew became mixed up with the “wrong crowd” before his death and believes drink was involved.

And Derry – who tried one session of counselling but didn’t find it helpful – admitted he wishes that Andrew had been killed in an accident so it would have been easier to take.

He told the Evening Herald: “Andrew was a well-rounded kid, but it’s just that the whole thing went skewed for him in the last couple of months of his life, which is unfortunate.

“He met up with the wrong crowd through the motor cars, and that was the problem, basically.”

And Derry urged people feeling down to consider those they’re leaving behind and talk to an organisation like Console or Pieta House.

He said: “It will ruin their lives forever. If Andrew was to look back now, he’d see that Sallyanne, Sarah May, his granny and myself are all heartbroken, as are his aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

“His best friend Michael Kelly is really suffering too.

“You might think nobody loves you, but I guarantee that you don’t know just how many people actually care for you, so don’t bottle up your feelings.”